A/N: Yes, things are slow at first, but that is because I am introducing the situation and character relationships. Carlisle and Esme are together; Alice and Jasper are together; Emmett and Rosalie are not together; Edward is alone. On the Quileute side, Jacob is completely unattached, and Quil hasn't imprinted on Claire.

Enjoy chapter two. :)

Reviews are love!

After the meeting, Quil and Jacob went to Jacob's garage, where Embry was supposed to meet them. Pacing around the room while Quil sat perched on a spare tire, Jacob threw his hands up in exasperation.

"We have to team up with those stinking bloodsuckers, and to top it off, we don't even get to fight!"

"I heard you the first twelve times you said that, Jake. It sucks, sure, but first of all, there is no guarantee that you will be one of the four unlucky bastards that get paired up with one of the leeches. And if you are, there could still be a fight for you to jump into. If not, what is gonna happen? You gonna go pick a fight when there's nothing to fight about? That would be really stupid. So, I think you need to just chill out. There could be gallons of blood shed, for all you know. Would that make you happy?"

"Don't get smart with me, Quil. I'm being serious. Do you actually want to spend time with those leeches? Those monsters?"

"Monsters? So says the guy that spends massive amounts of time running around as a giant puppy."

Jacob stopped pacing to glare at Quil.

"Remind me again why I'm friends with you."

"Because you can't resist my charm. Or my Nintendo."

"Right. Damn it! Where the hell is Embry?" Jacob asked, beginning to pace again.

"No idea. He said he was going to stick around for some extra practice with the Cullens. I think he's got the hots for the blonde chick."

"Rosalie…. Damn it, why do I even know her name!?"

"Dude, seriously, chill. There isn't enough room in this shack for me to stay in one piece while you go all Beowulf on somebody's ass."

"You do know that Beowulf had nothing to do with actual wolves, right?"

"Whatever, man. I'm just saying that you need to chillax, 'kay? Stop pacing before you wear a hole in the floor. Besides, you are totally making me dizzy."

Before Jacob could retort, Embry burst through the door of the shop, a strange smile on his face.

"Dudes!" he exclaimed. "That. Was. Awesome! You guys should have been there! Vampires are so fast when they run that they're like practically invisible. Oh, and when they hit each other, it sounds like boulders colliding or something! It's friggin' sweet, man."

"Since when are you the bloodsuckers' biggest fan?" Jacob asked scornfully.

"Since I got picked and paired up with the hot blonde chick!" Embry was ecstatic.

"They decided who was partnering up while we were gone?"

"Well, Sam was still there, so he and Dr. Cullen figured it out."

There was silence as Jacob and Quil waited for Embry to continue.

"So, are you going to tell us who got picked or are you gonna keep daydreaming about Barbie, dude?"

"Oh, believe me; I will make some 'special' time for thinking about Barbie later."

"Ew. That's way gross, man. You over share."

"Just sayin'. Anyway, I'm with Rosalie, obviously. They picked Seth, which Leah hated, but she's a bitch, so no one cares. They put him with the vampire mom, Esme. Total 'M.I.L.F.', by the way. Except for the whole vampire thing, which I can excuse Rosalie for, because, I mean, damn. Look at her."

"The point, Embry. Get to it," Jacob sighed.

"Chill, bro. I'm getting there. They chose Paul, and they paired him with Jasper, the blonde dude. It seems Jasper has some kind of extra power to influence people's emotions, and they figure that he can keep Paul in check and lay some mojo on him to keep him calm."

"I wish the bloodsucker the best of luck with that," Quil laughed.

"I know, right? Let's see. Me, Seth, Paul, oh yeah," Embry counted each guy out on his fingers, trying to remember the pairings. "Quil, man, you didn't get chosen. Sorry, man."

"Sorry?" Quil said. "For what? I don't have to run all over creation with vampire burning my nose. I'm glad I didn't get picked."

"What about Jared, Brady, and Collin?" Jacob asked, knowing the answer before he asked, but eager to delay the bad news nonetheless.

"Jared volunteered to stay with Leah, and Collin didn't have a choice but to stay home. Brady, either. There weren't enough vampires to go around, apparently."

"Well what about those vampire friends of the Cullens? The ones we're doing all this for in the first place."

"They are not of the 'vegetarian' sort. Dr. Cullen says we would all be better off if they just stayed put in Forks. They're on guard duty, basically."

"So, that makes me the fourth person. Damn it. Who the hell did they pair me with?"

"That would be Emmett. The big, brawny fellow. I overheard Sam and Dr. Cullen talking about how you're both pig-headed and feisty. Well, maybe not in those exact words, but apparently you two will be a match made in Heaven. Oh, and you and Seth have the daylight shift for the first round."

Embry took a seat next to Quil on the garage floor when he was done speaking. Jacob began to pace again, but more slowly this time.

"Well, it doesn't help much, but at least he'll be easy to put up with if he really is as similar to me as they say."

"Ha!" Embry and Quil laughed simultaneously.

"What's so funny?"

"Well, you have never had to put up with yourself," Quil explained.

"And?"

"Basically, what Quil here is saying is that you are going to absolutely hate this guy."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"So, I'm pretty much paired with the werewolf version of myself?"

"Yes. Think of it as a learning opportunity. According to what we've heard from Sam, it would seem that Jacob Black is quite similar to you, Emmett."

"Basically, what Esme here is saying, bro, is that now you will learn first-hand what we all go through when it comes to putting up with you. Payback is a bitch!"

"Language, Alice!"

"Sorry!" she called, already flitting up the stairs to the room she shared with Jasper.

"I do not understand what makes this whole situation so difficult for you to accept, Emmett," Carlisle stated. "No one else, not even Rosalie, the most histrionic person in this family, found a problem with this arrangement, much less with his or her partnership. What issues have you with yours?"

"No issues. I just don't like the idea of the wolves getting in our way. That's all, Dad. Nothing I can't handle, so don't worry about me. You said that you wouldn't ask for their help unless you thought it was absolutely necessary, so I trust you, and I won't let anything interfere with keeping us all safe, I promise. Not even a stinking old werewolf," Emmett joked, trying to ease the apprehension he knew Carlisle carried with him, for most of which Emmett felt he was to blame.

"Alright, son. Thank you. This will be over before you know it."

"Hope so. See you. Good night, Mom, Dad. Love you guys."

As his parents reciprocated both his 'love you' and his good night wishes, Emmett ascended the stairs to one of the guest bedrooms in the Cullen home. He'd traded his own much larger and nicer bedroom to Saoirse and Tallis for the time being. He missed his own bed, though it was basically useless, and he definitely missed his stereo system. For now, he relied on his mp3 player. He plugged in a set of headphones, placed them over his ears, and pressed play on the delicate machinery. Emmett could feel the tension of the day release itself from his body as the first familiar notes of a very familiar song began to play. The sound was imperfect to his vampire ears, of course, regardless of the fact that the headphones he owned were the best that money could buy. However, the song soothed him just the same. Emmett closed his eyes as the music played and he lay on the bed, coming as close to something resembling sleep as he ever possibly could.